The Detroit Lions opened their 2024 preseason on Thursday night when they took on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. It wasn't a great night overall, though, as the Lions dropped the contest, 14-3.
As far as the offense was concerned, things were mostly stagnant. The Lions failed to sustain drives, were 0-for-3 in the red zone, and failed to convert on four fourth-down attempts.
But there were a few bright spots on offense, with quarterback Hendon Hooker, wide receiver Isaiah Williams and running back Sione Vaki being among them.
Let's see how many snaps they played on Thursday night, along with the rest of the Lions' offense.
Lions offensive snap counts
Quarterbacks
Nate Sudfeld - 50
Hendon Hooker - 20
The Lions were going to deploy both quarterbacks for one half each, but Hooker's appearance was cut short due to a concussion. Even still, he had the better performance on Thursday night.
Running backs
Zonovan Knight - 20
Jake Funk - 15
Sione Vaki - 13
Jermar Jefferson - 13
Craig Reynolds - 9
Vaki, who entered the game as the RB4 on the depth chart, didn't see the field until the second quarter and was the third running back to enter the game behind Reynolds and Jefferson.
However, he was also the best of the bunch, with his 29 yards leading all backs. In fact, he tallied more yards on his 15-yard scamper than any other back had the entire game. Vaki also saw a team-high 13 special teams snaps.
Wide receivers
Daurice Fountain - 27
Isaiah Williams - 24
Donovan Peoples-Jones - 23
Tom Kennedy - 23
Antoine Green - 22
Maurice Alexander - 21
Kaden Davis - 18
Jalon Calhoun - 15
Tre’Quan Smith - 14
Williams was the standout of the night at the wide receiver position, with his four catches and 35 yards both being tops. His showing will greatly help his cause as the UDFA tries to earn a roster spot.
Peoples-Jones secured a 26-yard grab, which was much-needed after head coach Dan Campbell expressed disappointment in him recently. Alexander had one catch on his three targets and was not good as a punt returner. Green exited early due to a concussion after three catches for 13 yards.
Tight ends
Sean McKeon - 31
Shane Zylstra - 24
James Mitchell - 20
Parker Hesse - 18
McKeon was the only one to come away without a catch. Mitchell, Zylstra and Hesse each had one catch for 11, seven and eight yards, respectively. Hesse saw the second-most special teams snaps on the team with 10.
Offensive line
Connor Galvin - 51
Colby Sorsdal - 45
Giovanni Manu - 35
Jake Burton - 35
Kayode Awosika - 35
Bryan Hudson - 35
Kingsley Eguakun - 35
Duke Clemens - 30
Ike Boettger - 22
Michael Niese - 18
Dan Skipper - 9
Galvin suffered an injury that Campbell said might be long term, so tough break for him. It was a bad night overall for this group, but Sorsdal and Manu struggled in particular. The Lions opened the game with Skipper, Awosika, Eguakun, Niese and Sorsdal from left to right, and then went with a group of Manu, Boettger, Hudson, Burton and Galvin from left to right in the second half.
